Sharky's Machine

1981

Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller

Synopsis

Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop in Atlanta who's demoted to vice after a botched bust. In the depths of this lowly division, while investigating a high-dollar prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with government ties, and responds by assembling his downtrodden fellow investigators (Sharky's "machine") to find the leaders and bring them to justice before they kill off all his partners and witnesses, including Sharky himself.

Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop in Atlanta who's demoted to vice after a botched bust. In the depths of this lowly division, while investigating a high-dollar prostitution ring, Sharky stumbles across a mob murder with government ties, and responds by assembling his downtrodden fellow investigators (Sharky's "machine") to find the leaders and bring them to justice before they kill off all his partners and witnesses, including Sharky himself.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by trashgang7 / 10

Burt Reynolds in a serious role, not a classic but still worth seeing

This is not your typical action flick from the eighties. I came across this one due a friend remembering this one and knowing i like Burt Reynolds. This is made after Deliverance (1972) and even his funny part in Smokey and The Bandit (1977).

For many this is the best flick with Burt and it was even directed by him. It's a more psychological flick then action because there's a lot going on in the mind of Sharky (Burt Reynolds). It's a slow moving flick but even clocking in just over 2 hours it never bored me. It's only in the beginning you will see some action and towards the last part. But it's so typical end seventies, early eighties. The sound, the score, the way of using the camera.

Burt isn't the macho here as we used to see him, for some this will be outdated but it's still worth picking up just to see all those thespians from those day.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Reviewed by wkozak2218 / 10

very good police drama.

I like Burt Reynolds. I like Deliverance, Switching Channels,Stick, etc. . I find he can do comedy or drama. He is very good at playing a friend out for revenge or a cop. I like all the actors in here. They do a very good job in their roles. Maybe a little less yelling. The action is well paced. It does drag in spots. The scenes where you hear but don't see Domino drag. I wish they re-thought those scenes. I keep watching to cheer when the bad guys go down. I wish Reynolds did more cop films. He was very good as Dan August. I also like that he was a stunt man before becoming big. Its nice to see the star do most of his stunts in a movie.

Reviewed by Lee Eisenberg6 / 10

corruption city

Burt Reynolds directs himself as an Atlanta cop investigating prostitution ring tied to a political candidate. My favorite scene in "Sharky's Machine" came early on, when Reynolds's character gets demoted to the vice squad and walks down to the bottom floor, finding what the vice squad looks like (and showing how it reflects all the sleazy stuff that they have to investigate). That scene is merely an introduction to the slimy things that Sharky and his colleagues will come across over the course of the movie.

I suspect that a lot of the scenes of Rachel Ward half-dressed will interest people, but those are more peripheral to the movie's action. The environs of Atlanta set the stage for all manner of lowlife activity. And when I say lowlife, I mean that there are some INTENSE scenes. It's not any kind of great movie but I enjoyed it.

The rest of the cast includes Vittorio Gassman, Charles Durning, Bernie Casey and Brian Keith.